Two O'Clock Feeding
by bubble-rouge08
Summary: [SMACked] Dylan can't sleep.  So he counts sheep.  [Part of the Since that Cold November Day series.]
1. the babies

_**A/N: Yoo-hoo! You guys still there?**_

_**Well, I have to take a break from the angst fest of "Home" so I wrote this one. If I want to feel fluffy, I turn to sweet little Dylan. So here it is. Not sure if this is just a one-shot or a chapter story. We'll see…**_

_**The wrong grammar and spellings are intentional since Dylan is four years old in this story. For all those who don't know, "Dylan" first appeared in my story "Since that Cold November Day" – just read chapter 25 for background on him.**_

_**Without further ado… ENJOY! And don't forget to review! Thanks.**_

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**TWO O'CLOCK FEEDING**

**© CATE**

**i.the babies**

_Forty-eight sheep, forty-nine sheep, fifty sheep._

I can only go until 50. Miss Simmons promised to teach us how to count to 100 next week. I'm so excited! Mommy said if I can count to a hunnerd, I can get ice cream after school. And Mommy also said that if I can't sleep, I could count sheep until I do. But I tried and tried – I could only get to 50 sheep – and I'm still awake.

Mommy and Daddy tucked me in after I kissed my baby sister g'night. Mara's so cute and I love her. And she makes me smile. She's probably asleep now. She's a baby and babies sleep lots. But I'm not a baby anymore – I'm big brother! And now, I can't sleep. I tried counting the stars that Daddy pasted above my bed but it's not the same as counting sheep. Mommy and Daddy are growed-ups so it's okay for them to stay up late. I'm big brother but not a growed-up yet. Daddy said that it's a very long time until that happens. For now, I'm big brother Dylan.

Mr. Cheeks always helps me go to sleep but he's in the washy now. Mommy said that Mr. Cheeks needs a bathy. He'll be back tomorrow, Mommy promised. Blue is sleeping, too. After he eats his kibble – _tee-hee, I love that word_ – he goes to beddy-bye. I wiggled my toesies and I closed my eyes again, trying to sleep.

**Thump-thump-thump**. There it goes again. That thumpety-thumpety sound coming from Mommy and Daddy's room. It always wakes Blue up because his bed is beside the wall. Sometimes, the thumping stops and then it goes again. I asked my daddy and mommy about it and they said they're just moving the bed to see if there are buggies under there. Mommy's ascared of buggies. But I'm not! I'm a brave big brother!

Sometimes, I think Mommy or Daddy's having a nightscare. I could hear noisies coming from their room. Like last Monday – I thought Mommy was crying. I knocked on their door and Daddy opening it and he said that they found a buggie under the bed. Oh, it's just a buggie. Mommy gave me a hug 'fore Daddy tucked me back into bed.

Oh, the thumpety-thumpety stopped. Blue's awake. He's making funny noisies again at the wall behind his bed. Then he's trying to jump on my bed for a huggle. _Here, Blue. I can't sleep either._ Sometimes it's itchy when I hug Blue but he's warm and soft. Just like Mr. Cheeks. He licks my face and it tickles. Then Blue jumped off my bed and started to pull my blankie. _Whassit? Do you want to go and see Mara?_

Blue was already out the door. He likes Mara and he makes her laugh, too. Mara's room is in front of mine and she has a twinkly star nightlight. I picked that for her! She used to cry when she didn't have a nightlight on. I let her borrow my Nemo nightlight 'fore. And then she could sleep. Blue was trying to get his hands – Danny says they're called 'paws' – on Mara's crib to look at her.

She's asleep, alright. My baby sister has cute and soft cheeks. Lindey loves to kiss her a lots. Mara has on orange blankie and a little kitten doll beside her little feet. Patrick Starfish is somewhere under the blankie. That's her favorite toy. My classmate Maggie gave her that when she was very little. Maggie likes her, too. She doesn't have brother or sisters yet – Maggie love to play with her when Mommy brings Mara with her to my school. Mara likes it, too… if she's not asleep.

My baby sister turned to her side facing me. She looks like Mommy a bit only she's chubby. _A chubby baby!_ Mommy said that when I was very little, I was chubby, too. Blue's sniffing around the crib now. Mara has started to move around some more. And oh no, she's sniffling.

_Oh baby sister_, I patted her gently on the arm, _don't cry. Big brother is here._ But it was no use. Mara opened her eyes and she was crying. Blue ran out of the room, leaving me alone. I don't know what to do!

And then, I heard feetsteps from outside. I turned around and I saw Mommy and Daddy standing there.

Before they could say anything, I said, "I didn't do it!"

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_TBC?_

_Do you want me to continue:)_


	2. mommy

_**A/N: Hello one and all! Still with me?**_

_**Like you all said, I continued this little ficlet. I've actually finished it and it has three parts. This is part two. The third one will come about two or three days after this. **_

_**I hope you like this. This is Stella's POV. Thanks!**_

**ii.mommy**

The only 'alone time' Mac and I have is during bedtime. He'd be at work all day and I would be tending to the house and kids – Dylan in school and Mara being awake longer. Sometimes, even at night Mac gets a call-out. he would be at work until noon.

Oh, the life of a cop's wife. Well, at least he doesn't stay at work overnight anymore unlike before the kids came.

We finally tucked our son Dylan in for the night. He kept on saying that he wasn't sleepy but it was really past his bedtime – although he doesn't have school tomorrow. Mara was sound asleep after a day at the doctors for one of her shots. She cried so much that it broke my heart. But later when we dropped by the lab, she was all laughs and smiles again. Lindsey's very fond of her, carrying her around during her break.

After I gave birth to Mara, Mac and I followed the doctor's order of… well, _no sex for ten weeks_. At least we _tried_ to follow it. I thought I could wait that long; after all, taking care of a newborn is hard work. I knew Mac would badger me for some 'action' a few _weeks_ after delivery.

But… the exact opposite happened. Blame it on overreacting hormones or whatever. I was the one who wanted the action. My body jumped every time his skin met mine. My sex drive went berserk _and_ frustrated for – not ten – but _twelve weeks_!

When Mac Taylor stood his ground, _he really holds on to it_. And in all honesty, I couldn't complain. He spent time with our children as much as he could, learned to change diapers as well as making formula (I mix-feed). At times, he would be the one up for those two o'clock feedings. We would take turns but I must admit, I skipped my share of turns. I would've tended to Mara no matter how tired I was but he would always be one step ahead of me, saying, "I'll do it, sweetheart. Go back to sleep." I won't have the guts to admit this to him but every time he said that, it would make me melt inside.

Every time I make _my _ moves on him, he would stop me. The farthest we got in that twelve weeks was… I guess you can call that _groping_. Dylan was in school, Mara was asleep, Mac was on his day-off and all the chores were done. We were on the couch, 'Meet Joe Black' forgotten on the TV, my hands were all over his back and his were under my shirt. Everything was going on so well until his hands squeezed.

Something warm and wet seeped through my shirt. "Oh damn, sweetheart I'm sorry," Mac apologized, pulling his hands from under my shirt. "It slipped from my mind."

You just have to thank lactation for ruining the mood. We spent the next five minutes laughing at the situation. Thank Mara's diaper change for ruining _that_.

I finally got some action when Mac came home after closing a very hard-hitting case – a case with children. He went straight to the kids' rooms to kiss them goodnight even waking up Dylan for a hug. Mac then went to bed with me, crying as he reached his peak. I just held him, comforted him as I would my own son, until he fell asleep.

Tonight, both of us were just feeling frisky. Gosh, we seem like two teenagers! Through the year since we've had children in the house with us, we've learned how to… first, keep _quiet_ and also, work our way _around_ Dylan's questions if ever we weren't so quiet. So far the 'looking for bugs' excuse had been working well. We have to think of new explanations once he grows a little older.

Both of us were at the verge of sleep when we heard a noise from the baby monitor. It started out as a soft whimpering then a few seconds after, it became a piercing cry. Mac asked, "What time is it?"

"Two o'clock," I mumbled. "Right on the money." I stood up and followed Mac out our bedroom to Mara's.

When we got there, Blue was sitting outside the door, head resting on his folded front legs. Dylan was standing in front of the crib. He saw us at the door and immediately said, "I didn't do it!"

_Part three coming up…_

_Paly – yeah, me too. Although, I would like a guy like Mac beside me tee-hee…_

_MJ – borrowed the idea from my aunt and uncle – the bugs explanation, I mean haha._

_Ladybrin – weeeelll, I tried to add a little spice on this one. You know I can't help it with SMACked. ;)_

_Mo – everything he does is cute and innocent. Only a matter of time though before he finds out what's really going on in his parents' bedroom XD_

_And oh… "Meet Joe Black" … I wonder why I used that movie… XD Anyone who figures out why gets a cookie!_


	3. daddy

_**A/N: Last chapter y'all! Sorry it took longer than expected. School's eating up time again. No worries though.**_

_**This chapter is chockfull of Dylan!fluff. Please R&R and thanks!!!**_

_** hr **_

**iii.daddy**

_I didn't do it!_

Dylan was standing beside his sister's crib, wiggling his toes and chewing on his lip. He looked so innocent, looking at us with his big hazel eyes.

Stella went over to the crying infant and carried the bundle in her arms. She rocked Mara gently to shush her. Dylan was still standing on the same spot looking at me, as if pleading me to believe him.

"I swear, Daddy," he said, walking towards me to hug one of my legs. "I didn't do it. Honest!" Stella had her back towards us – probably breastfeeding since Mara had quieted down. I hadn't said a word since my wife and I barged into the room and Dylan took that as a bad thing. "Daddy?" he whimpered, his eyes beginning to tear up. "Am sowry…" He wiped a stray tear away with a small fist.

_Uh-oh_. The last thing Stella and I need at two in the morning was another crying child. Dylan turned to go back to his room, shoulders slumped, feet dragging beneath him. But before he could reach the door, I called to him in a soft voice, "Dylan."

He looked back at me, his eyes full of hope. "Daddy?"

I walked over to him and gathered him up in my arms. He buried his head on the crook of my neck and whimpered. "It's okay, little guy. No one's blaming you for anything," I assured him. He lifted his head to look at me and tried to smile. His eyes were red and puffy – trying not to cry. "You went in here to look after baby sister, right?" Dylan pouted and nodded slightly.

"Aw… that's my baby boy," Stella said, walking over to us and rubbing our son's back in comfort. I was right, she was breastfeeding. Mara was happily suckling on her breast, eyes wide and looking up at all of us. Her little hands were closed into fists clutched on her chest.

"Mommy… I'm not a baby anymore," he protested after kissing his mother. "I'm big brother already." Stella met my eyes.

We heard a soft yawn and Mara had finished feeding. She had a smile on her chubby face. Dylan placed his palm on her cheek and her eyelids fluttered for a moment. They stayed open, looking at her big brother. "What are you doing awake, Dylan?" Stella asked.

She proceeded to burp the baby. That sent Dylan giggling. And Mara yawned again. "Can't sleep," he simply answered, placing his head against my shoulder. "Not enough sheep, Mommy." I couldn't help but laugh at that.

"Oh poor baby," Stella teased, stroking his cheek. Our little boy pouted at 'baby'. I could sense Stella was getting a bit sleepy as well.

"I'll get you to sleep, Dylan," I said. "Say goodnight to Mommy and baby sister now." He gave both of them a kiss on the cheek, trailing his fingers through Mara's hair. I kissed my daughter as well before leaving the very pink and purple room.

On our way back to my son's room, Blue woke and padded back in there with us. I placed Dylan under his covers; he pushed his feet out and stretched his toes. He clutched the sheets in his hands and looked at me expectantly. "What're we gonna do, Daddy?"

"We're going to count sheep," I said, sitting on his bed beside him, stroking his hair.

He pouted again. "That don't work. Only fifty sheeps, Daddy."

"I know that," I said. He'd been so proud since learning how to count to 'big numbers'. He sank deeper into the mattress. "But you know… fifty sheep is enough."

"How?" he asked, scratching his head.

"Well, little guy… each sheep should do something or go somewhere, right?" I explained. I remembered this one my own mother used on me.

Dylan nodded and he looked very interested. "I guess."

"So we give each sheep a story," I said. "For example, sheep number one is reading a book about bears. Then sheep number two comes along and eats cake."

His eyes lit up as he got the idea. "Yes! And sheep number three rides his bike. Uh… and oh, sheep number four plays the _pa-ya-no_." I think he meant _piano_.

"And you know what happens next?" I pitched in. He shook his head but he was smiling. "Sheep number five walks over to all of them and sings the farewell song."

His eyes lit up. For their school's film showing day, Miss Simmons chose 'The Sound of Music'. And ever since, he'd been watching it a handful of times. Sheldon even gave him a DVD of the movie. Stella joked at he's graduated from Barney to Fräulein Maria.

"_So long, farewell,_" Dylan started to sing but stopped at the 'auf Wiedersehen'. He would mumble out that part when he would sing it.

"And what did Gretl say?" I asked after supplying the _auf Wiedersehen_. Gretl was the youngest of the von Trapp children.

Dylan thought for a bit and replied in song, "_The sun as gone to bed and so must I…_" I smiled as he finished singing. He certainly didn't get his voice from me, that's for sure. His eyes began to droop and he brought the blankets closer around his shoulders. "Sleepy now, Daddy."

I kissed his brow and tucked him in. Before I could exit the room, he said in a very soft voice, "Daddy, does sheep number five _always_ has to sing the song?"

"No, baby. All of the sheep can sing if you want them to," I said, flicking the night light on. "Goodnight, Dylan." When I didn't get an answer, I was sure he was already dozing off.

Speaking of dozing off, when I returned to the master bedroom, I found Stella curled up on her side of the bed asleep. So carefully, I slid beside her and spooned her. She stirred and asked, "What took so long? Is he asleep?"

"Yes, he is," I answered, kissing her shoulder. "Counting sheep did the trick after all."

She turned to face me and snuggled closer. "What do you do when you can't sleep?" she asked.

Hey, this conversation sounded familiar. "Flip the pillow to the cool side?" I teased.

Stella rose to one elbow and glared at me. "You going _normal _on me now, Mac Taylor?" she laughed. I pulled her down for a kiss. "That's what I'm talking about…" she moaned after the kiss.

"Huh?" I asked, working on the buttons of her pajama top. "What would you rather do then, if you can't sleep?"

She shrugged off the shirt the rest of the way and settled against my chest. "I'd _work_. Burn off some steam, you know." She kissed the hollow of my throat and placed her head on my shoulder.

My hand traveled up and down her bare back and down to the sides of her breasts. "Like this?" I whispered against her hair. She writhed as my fingers molded the soft flesh.

"We have at least four hours until Mara wakes up again," she said, her speech muffled by my shoulder.

We slept for only two hours out of that four.

_**08/16/2007**_

_ hr _

_Zee End._

_MJ – who is Brad Pitt's female co-star in "Meet Joe Black"? ;)_

_Mo – how's this chapter? Dylan fluff and frisky SMACked all in one. XD_


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